The Escape
by Leina16
Summary: Link, listen to me! This tower will collapse soon! With his last breath, Ganondorf is trying to crush us in the ruins of the tower!" OoT, Zelink, oneshot. :D


**Hello everybody! This is my second oneshot. :) It's based on those three minutes in the game that you have to run down Ganondorf's tower before it collapses. I think I stayed pretty true to what happened, adding in my own stuff here and there. ;) Well I hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Zelda.**

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THE ESCAPE

Ganondorf's body fell to the ground with a thud. Link's fierce blue eyes watched carefully for any movement. Confident that the Evil King was really dead, Link's body relaxed slightly, and he leaned on his sword for support. His breathing was heavy, and his body felt like it hurt all over. Many thoughts raced through the hero's head. Was it really over? He had finally done it. After months of pain, sorrow, and fear, he, a simple boy from the forest, had single-handedly defeated Ganondorf. His mind drifted towards Zelda, and he looked around in alarm. Panic quickly turned into relief and concern as he saw the crystal prison descending towards him. It floated to a stop just in front of him, and then disappeared, leaving behind the beautiful princess.

Zelda opened her eyes slowly and noticed her hero standing wearily in front of her. Even when he was filthy and bleeding, he looked like a god. Zelda's breath caught as his smoldering cobalt orbs captured her sapphire eyes. She felt like she was falling into those deep pools, like she could fall into that gentle gaze forever. She managed to tear her eyes away to glance behind her at Ganondorf.

"Ganondorf... pitiful man... Without a strong, righteous mind, he could not control the power of the gods... and-" Her words were cut off when suddenly the ground beneath the pair shook violently. Zelda gasped and her eyes snapped back to Link. "Link, listen to me! This tower will collapse soon. With his last breath, Ganondorf is trying to crush us in the ruins of the tower! We need to hurry and escape! This way!" she yelled rapidly, hastening towards a ramp that headed down. Link followed her obediently. Together they ran, focused on reaching safety. Link's heart sank as they approached a barred doorway.

_A dead end, _he thought hopelessly. He watched in confusion as Zelda raised her arms, a pink light emanating from them. The bars rose, allowing the heroes to continue their flight. Link stared in wonder. "Princess, that was amazing!" he exclaimed incredulously.

Zelda blushed lightly. "Thank you, Link."

They entered the bottom of the room that Link had fought Ganondorf in. Broken chunks of rock lay scattered across the floor, and small fires burned everywhere. Link eyed the falling rubble and glanced at Zelda in concern. He worried about the damage a large rock could do if it hit her small body the wrong way.

Zelda led Link through another doorway that took them back outside. They began the descent once again. A piece of burning rubble dropped heavily towards Zelda. She quickly jumped to the side, but she misjudged the distance, lost her balance, and fell. Link gasped and watched in horror as his princess screamed and disappeared over the edge.

"Zelda!" he yelled as he dove to his stomach and swiped for her flailing hands. His hand miraculously caught one of hers while his other hand tightly gripped the walkway for support. "Hold on!" he grunted as he strained to haul her back up. Zelda looked up at him with frightened eyes. Her long, white glove began to slip off.

"I don't think I can, Link!" she cried.

"Damn it, Zelda, don't you dare let go!" Link growled fiercely. He released the walkway and grabbed her slipping hand, his upper torso hanging precariously over the edge of the path. He heaved her up, pulling her closer and closer to him. With a final haul, he dragged her back to safety. He groaned as he rolled onto his back, Zelda landing on top of him. They stared at each other with wide eyes, their faces mere inches apart. Link's heavy breaths washed over Zelda's face.

"Thank you," Zelda whispered breathlessly.

"No problem," Link grinned. "I couldn't have the princess die right after I had rescued her, could I?"

Zelda tried to glare at him as she sat up and lightly hit his arm, but a smile broke out on her face. "No you couldn't, _Hero_."

They laughed together, enjoying the short moment of peace in the middle of all the chaos. Link quickly sobered up. "We really do need to get out of here. The tower is going to collapse soon!" he remarked while he stood up and extended a hand to help Zelda. She gracefully accepted his assistance and they continued their flight. Their path was blocked by another barred doorway, but Zelda easily took care of it.

They entered a circular room. Zelda immediately headed towards the exit, and Link followed her. He didn't see the large rock that fell towards him. It struck his shoulder painfully, and he dropped to his hands and knees, crying out and grasping his shoulder.

"Link!" Zelda screamed. She dashed to his side and grabbed his arm to help him back up. "Are you all right?" She asked worriedly.

Link clenched his teeth. "I'm okay. I've had worse." He pulled Zelda towards the exit. They appeared outside once again, lightning slashing across the dark sky. Zelda took the lead again, deftly descending the path and avoiding the falling pieces of rubble. She opened another door. This room was mostly empty, which surprised the pair. Ignoring that, Zelda continued forward. Suddenly, a ring of fire appeared around her. She gasped and barely stopped in time to avoid being burned. She spun around, met Link's bewildered gaze, and gasped.

"Link, behind you!" she shouted.

Link dove to the side instinctively, and a jagged sword clashed against the ground where he had been standing. His sword slid out of its sheath as he readied his weapons. Two stalfos stared at him, laughing evilly. They advanced toward the hero. Zelda watched in concern as one enemy leapt forward in attack. Link sidestepped him and thrust his sword at the stalfos. It merely flew through the skeleton's ribs and stayed there, quivering. Link mentally cursed as the stalfos chuckled and kicked his chest powerfully. Link flew through the air, his sword clattering to the ground behind the stalfos, and landed heavily. He yelled in pain but stood up quickly, glaring at the minions. This only made them laugh harder.

"Let the princess go," he snarled.

They stopped, surprised by the intensity of his voice, but shook their heads. "I don't think so," one said.

"Besides, you're not in any position to fight us," the other commented.

Link only reached into his pouch and threw something in front of him. The deku nut produced a blinding flash of light that momentarily stunned the stalfos. They dropped their swords and shields to cover their eyes, groaning in pain. Link quickly dove to his sword and swiped one of the stalfos's skulls off. The other skeleton recovered and dodged Link's next attack, picking up its weapons. It growled in anger and lunged at Link, who parried the attack. In return, he slashed at the monster, but it jumped back. It turned to Zelda, chuckling, and raised its sword.

"No!" Link shouted. "Your fight is with me." He attacked the distracted enemy, and it howled in agony. It drew a small dagger and launched it at Link. Caught by surprise, Link could only watch as the dagger stabbed his side. "Ah!" he cried as he fell to his knees, his eyes tight with pain.

"Link!" Zelda shrieked, horrified.

Her anxious voice brought Link back to the present. He lashed out with his sword and sliced the cocky stalfos's sword arm off. It screeched in an inhuman way, and Link silenced it with a final slash. The fire around Zelda disappeared, and she rushed to Link.

"Link! Oh Goddesses, Link, you're bleeding so much!" Her hands hovered over the wound, not quite sure what to do. Link laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, and he smiled. Her wide eyes stared at him questioningly. In answer, Link grasped the hilt of the dagger and deftly pulled it out, only gasping slightly in pain. He threw the dagger away and reached back into his pouch, this time pulling out some bandages. These he pressed into Zelda's hands before he collapsed on his back, breathing heavily. Zelda only hesitated for a second before she began to wrap the bandages around his chest. She finished in no time, and she made sure the bandages were tight.

Link touched her hand. "Thank you," he whispered.

Zelda nodded, relieved that he was okay. Link struggled to stand, and Zelda helped him up. They began running once again, but at a slower pace than before. When they entered the next doorway, their hearts rose; they were at the top of a large staircase.

"We must be getting close!" Link exclaimed excitedly. Zelda nodded and they began to hurry down the stairs. As they reached the bottom and turned the corner, Link suddenly halted. Zelda bumped into him.

"What's wrong?" she asked softly. Link merely pointed and she understood. A redead stood in the middle of the bridge, blocking their escape.

"Stay here," Link commanded gently. "I know how to temporarily stun it." He stepped forward and reached for his ocarina, when suddenly the redead's head snapped up, and it let out a high-pitched, ear-piercing scream. Link's body froze; he couldn't control it. His eyes were open wide in horror and terror. Never had he felt so... scared. In his mind he saw all of his loved ones lying in a pile on the ground, dead. His eyes passed over Saria, Darunia, Malon, Nabooru, and even Impa. He tried to look away as the last face, the one he dreaded the most, came into view, but he couldn't. Zelda's beautiful face stared back at him with blank eyes, her clothes a bloody mess. He heard Ganondorf's crazed laughter echoing all around him. Link began to sweat as the redead slowly crept closer. As it got nearer, he could smell the stench of death emanating from its desecrated body. Suddenly, it jumped onto Link's back, choking him.

"NO!" Link cried as the curse was lifted. He began grappling with the creature, struggling to breathe.

Zelda angrily shot a burst of magic and hit the monster squarely in the back. It screeched as it loosened its grip. Link was able to throw it off and kill it with a few quick stabs of his sword.

Gasping for breath, Link sheathed his sword and looked at Zelda gratefully. "Thanks," he said hoarsely, rubbing his throat.

Zelda just stared at him in concern, a fearful look on her face. Link smiled weakly in an attempt to reassure her. It didn't work.

A loud crash brought them out of their thoughts. "We need to get out of here, and fast," Zelda said. Link grabbed the princess's hand without hesitation and led her, dodging the falling rubble, up the final flight of stairs and to safety. Or so they thought...

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**So this is one of my favorite parts in the game. I thought it was fun, and the idea a good one. But who else thought it was annoying that every time you were hurt, Zelda stopped and "screamed," effectively wasting a lot of time. It was okay at first (I saw it as a sign of Zelink :D) but after a while it was just like, "Let's just go, Zelda, shut up!" Hahaha well anyway... I hope you liked it! Let me know what you think!**


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